ATI Radeon HD 5870 vs HD 7870M

Place in performance ranking	698	593
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	no data	0.56
Architecture	GCN (2011−2017)	TeraScale 2 (2009−2015)
GPU code name	Heathrow XT	Cypress
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop
Release date	24 April 2012 (12 years ago)	23 September 2009 (14 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	no data	$399

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

Detailed specifications

General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	640	1600
Core clock speed	800 MHz	850 MHz
Number of transistors	1,500 million	2,154 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	45 Watt	188 Watt
Texture fill rate	32.00	68.00
Floating-point performance	1.024 gflops	2.72 gflops

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Laptop size	large	no data
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 2.0 x16
Length	no data	282 mm
Width	no data	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	no data	2x 6-pin

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	1 GB
Memory bus width	128 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	4000 MHz	4800 MHz
Memory bandwidth	64 GB/s	153.6 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors	No outputs	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
HDMI	-	+

API compatibility

List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX	12 (11_1)	11.2 (11_0)
Shader Model	5.1	5.0
OpenGL	4.6	4.4
OpenCL	1.2	1.2
Vulkan	1.2.131	N/A

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

HD 7870M 3.91

ATI HD 5870 5.75
+47.1%

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

HD 7870M 1507

ATI HD 5870 2220
+47.3%

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

7−8
−42.9%

10−11

+42.9%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	10−12 −45.5%	16−18 +45.5%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	3−4 −33.3%	4−5 +33.3%
Battlefield 5	9−10 −33.3%	12−14 +33.3%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	9−10 −33.3%	12−14 +33.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	7−8 −42.9%	10−11 +42.9%
Far Cry 5	8−9 −25%	10−11 +25%
Far Cry New Dawn	10−12 −45.5%	16−18 +45.5%
Forza Horizon 4	21−24 −30.4%	30−33 +30.4%
Hitman 3	9−10 −33.3%	12−14 +33.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn	27−30 −29.6%	35−40 +29.6%
Metro Exodus	7−8 −42.9%	10−11 +42.9%
Red Dead Redemption 2	10−11 −40%	14−16 +40%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	14−16 −40%	21−24 +40%
Watch Dogs: Legion	40−45 −42.9%	60−65 +42.9%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	10−12 −45.5%	16−18 +45.5%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	3−4 −33.3%	4−5 +33.3%
Battlefield 5	9−10 −33.3%	12−14 +33.3%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	9−10 −33.3%	12−14 +33.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	7−8 −42.9%	10−11 +42.9%
Far Cry 5	8−9 −25%	10−11 +25%
Far Cry New Dawn	10−12 −45.5%	16−18 +45.5%
Forza Horizon 4	21−24 −30.4%	30−33 +30.4%
Hitman 3	9−10 −33.3%	12−14 +33.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn	27−30 −29.6%	35−40 +29.6%
Metro Exodus	7−8 −42.9%	10−11 +42.9%
Red Dead Redemption 2	10−11 −40%	14−16 +40%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	14−16 −40%	21−24 +40%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	16−18 −31.3%	21−24 +31.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion	40−45 −42.9%	60−65 +42.9%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	10−12 −45.5%	16−18 +45.5%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	3−4 −33.3%	4−5 +33.3%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	9−10 −33.3%	12−14 +33.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	7−8 −42.9%	10−11 +42.9%
Far Cry 5	8−9 −25%	10−11 +25%
Forza Horizon 4	21−24 −30.4%	30−33 +30.4%
Hitman 3	9−10 −33.3%	12−14 +33.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn	27−30 −29.6%	35−40 +29.6%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	14−16 −40%	21−24 +40%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	16−18 −31.3%	21−24 +31.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion	40−45 −42.9%	60−65 +42.9%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

10−11

−40%

14−16
+40%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	7−8 −42.9%	10−11 +42.9%
Far Cry New Dawn	6−7 −33.3%	8−9 +33.3%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	3−4 −33.3%	4−5 +33.3%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	3−4 −33.3%	4−5 +33.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
Far Cry 5	4−5 −25%	5−6 +25%
Forza Horizon 4	4−5 −25%	5−6 +25%
Hitman 3	8−9 −25%	10−11 +25%
Horizon Zero Dawn	9−10 −33.3%	12−14 +33.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	3−4 −33.3%	4−5 +33.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion	24−27 −45.8%	35−40 +45.8%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

8−9
−25%

10−11

+25%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
Hitman 3	0−1	0−1
Metro Exodus	0−1	0−1

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	3−4 −33.3%	4−5 +33.3%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	1−2 +0%	1−2 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	0−1	0−1
Far Cry 5	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	1−2 +0%	1−2 +0%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

5−6

−40%

7−8
+40%

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	3.91	5.75
Recency	24 April 2012	23 September 2009
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	1 GB
Chip lithography	28 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	45 Watt	188 Watt

HD 7870M has an age advantage of 2 years, a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 42.9% more advanced lithography process, and 317.8% lower power consumption.

ATI HD 5870, on the other hand, has a 47.1% higher aggregate performance score.

The Radeon HD 5870 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 7870M in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon HD 7870M is a notebook card while Radeon HD 5870 is a desktop one.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.